Potential at a reasonable price

[corky52]

http://losangeles.craigslist.org/lac/ctd/4983219641.html

Reasonable miles, nice size with a short rear overhang.
Air vent windows on the top of all the side window.
Not sure what the engine is. What V8 diesel was used back then and what transmission is likely? 


Corky

 

[cyndi]

Googling the picture brings up plenty of results. My guess is that it's a scam. Low miles on that kind of a vehicle is a red flag. Transportation companies put a ton of miles on their vehicles.

Are you asking for opinions because you're interested in buying it? Or sharing it as a find in case others are interested?

The trading post forum is for posting *finds* to share. I'll move the thread if that's the case.
https://vanlivingforum.com/Forum-Trading-Post

 

[cyndi]

I also googled the telephone # which brings up what looks to be a US company *plusgroups.us.com* If you click on the link it brings up a poorly written web page that's actually of Chinese origin.

 

[corky52]

I just got off the phone with the guy in the ad, seems real enough.  Told that it came out of a surplus deal, one of the aircraft companies, that fits with the looks of the yard and and background.

Seems like and up and up deal to me.

I put it up to share and I my also be interested if it's still around this weekend.


Corky

 

[oldogre]

looks like it has plenty of potential, I know that in 1995 the v-8 diesel was a powerstroke 7.3 litre which was a powerful monster of an engine, it was turbo charged, but look not sure because a 94 may not be turbo charged, which is okay if your not pulling a trailer, because they were a little less powerful, not towing I think we got around 20 mpg hwy with a crew cab xlt, 8 foot bed with a/c on.  we put 173,000 miles on it in 4 years and never missed a beat, and 57 oil changes @ then about 100 each doing it myself, so diesels are costly maintenance, but those old 7.3's IMO were bullet proof, super big injectors that took much abuse and a good engine to run alternative fuel from what I heard, the 95's also had a real easy fuel separator that your just cracked it open for a couple of seconds while idleing@ every oil change to flush any water in fuel, oh and change fuel filter every 15,000 miles.  while we had it we had to replace waterpump, starter, batteries and multifunction turn signal switch, which actually effected the way trans shifted, so about 3,500 in repairs, not too bad for what it did.

 

[cyndi]

Good luck

 

[oldogre]

Just thinking back, also if you acquire this vehicle, aside from fluid changes, also pay attention to coolant, they require a special additive in coolant to avoid hot spots in cylinder walls, so coolant is another maintanence item along with fuel additive on each refill, get a good quality one that will help lube upper cylinder areas.  when we sold that truck we had I know that they used it for about 10 years because I would always see it, not too bad.

 

[Canine]

From Wikipedia:
The 7.3L Power Stroke diesel was introduced halfway through the 1994 model year in Ford Econoline vans and Ford Heavy Duty pickups. It effectively replaced the 7.3 IDI..."

So it could be either motor.. Only a VIN check could tell us, unless you saw it. Seems wayyyy too cheap and too low miles. What 20 yr old diesel shuttle bus ever saw 2,500 miles a year?
Take a knowledgeable Ford diesel owner with you and a large bag of salt...

 

[corky52]

Vin is in the ad.  [font=Arial, sans-serif]1FDKE30M5RHA93381[/font]

In talking to the owner, the reason for the mileage is that it was a test and support van at an airport for a major aircraft company that came out in a lot of surplus equipment, so it's reasonable and would appear to have had maintenance on a regular basis. 

The story seems to fit with what I see in the pictures, I don't know what lots of short trips do to a diesel engine.


Corky
 

 

[Gary68]

make sure sellers photo i.d. matches title

if all it did was shuttle from airport to near hotel...

 

[corky52]

Gary, 
From the looks of the interior, I'd say it was more used for hauling crew and test equipment around the flight line, seems to have test equipment mountings and not many seats.


Corky

 

[Canine]

Diesels don't like short stop and starts. Doesn't mean the rig isn't the greatest thing since sliced bagels but still, inspections are your friend.

 

[TucsonAZ]

I see those things all the time for really good prices, I mean, who really wants them? The deal killer for me are the goofy doors and all the windows, just not my thing but may be fine if you don't care at all about stealth.

 

[masterplumber]

If it was used to shuttle test crews on the flight line, the mileage may be low but the engine hours may be very high due to lots of idle time. I know a certain well known truck that had to have it's engine replaced after going around the world via Russia in the winter. The truck only had something like 150K on it, but it was quite literally not shut of for 4 months due to the extreme cold, other than a couple times for service inside large heated truck garages. It could be a great deal, just be sure to check it out very closely.

 

[GotSmart]

150K on the Siberian back trails (not even roads) is like 1,500,000 miles on US roads.  

I enjoyed that story when you told me.